Institute of Chinese Materia Medica
China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
Brief Introduction
Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences is one of the oldest national institutions specially engaged in the research of Chinese materia medica in China. Since 1983, the institute has been designated as the World Health Organization Cooperating Center for Traditional Medicine.
Though more than fifty years of scientific research practice, a research team has been brought up. Their research areas include literature study, identification, chemistry, quality standards, processing, preparation, pharmacology, toxicology and R & D study of Chinese materia medica. The institute has 400 employees. There are 13 research centers and one national engineering laboratory in the institute. There are research centers of Theory and Herbal Literature, Pharmacognosy, Quality Standards, Pharmaceutical Forms, Processing, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacology, Safety Evaluation(GLP), Safety Research of Injectable Chinese Medicine, Biotechnology, R & D, Qinghaosu (artemisinin), Data of Chinese Materia Medica and National Engineering Laboratory of Quality Control Technology of Chinese Materia Medica. Three periodicals are published nationwide, such as national academic periodicals “China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica”, “Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae”, and popular science magazine “Family and Traditional Chinese Medicine”. Postdoctoral, doctoral and master’s degree research work has been carried out for subjects of “Chinese Materia Medica” and “Integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine”.
At present, there are more than 187 on-going research projects, which are respectively in the lists of key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, the Mega-projects of Science Research for the 12th Five-year Plan, the National Basic Research Program(973 Program), the National High-tech R & D Program(863 Program), the National Key New Drug Development Program. Since foundation of the institute, 19 projects have been awarded national prizes, 62 projects awarded ministerial and bureau prizes,175 projects awarded academic prizes. Up to now, the institute has developed 32 new medicines. 4275 research publications and 182 books have been published. In the year of 2011, Professor TU Youyou from the institute, was honored the Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award of U.S.A. for her outstanding contribution offered during the development of artemisinin.
Key research platforms have been established in the fields of basic and application study and R & D study of Chinese Materia Medica. These platforms include theory study, key technology study for industrial application and exploratory medicine development. The Theory Study of Chinese Materia Medica is focusing on research of property theories and principles of processing and formulation of Chinese materia medica. The Key Technology Study for Industrial Application of Chinese Materia Medica puts emphasis on the bottleneck problems baffling the development of this sector relating to research of identification and quality control, processing, pharmaceutical engineering and conservation of resources of Chinese materia medica to provide technological supports for the modernization of Chinese materia medica industry. The Key Technology Study for Exploratory Medicine Development of Chinese Materia Medica attaches importance on key and common technologies of research information and data digging, activity screening study, effect evaluation, chemical compound isolation and analysis, pharmaceutical form, metabolism study and safety evaluation, which are core steps of R & D of Chinese materia medica.
The institute implements international cooperation projects and person to person exchanges with research institutes, universities, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies from more than 80 countries and regions as well as international organizations globally.
The institute covers an area of more than 14000 m2. It possesses modern research equipment and apparatuses in the fields of identification, preparation, biotechnology, quality control, pharmacology and toxicology of Chinese materia medica. Its libratory has more than 40000 academic books relating to Chinese materia medica study.